Apprentice Britney Wong admits she was feeling the pressure before her first Hong Kong win but had a perfect person to ease her nerves pre-race in the form of trainer Douglas Whyte.
Wong had been winless after her first 11 rides through two meetings, but Cheval Valiant carried the weight of public expectation as a 3.1 favourite in the Golden Sixty Handicap.
In the pre-race parade ring Wong admitted her nerves were getting the better of her before a calming chat with Whyte: “Never mind ‘plan B’, I have a ‘plan P’ right now – panic!”
“Before the race, Mr Whyte discussed the race and the pressure with me and made me feel comfortable,” Wong told Idol Horse. “He said to just treat it like a trial, just make sure you jump clean and he will put himself there. I just did what he said and the plan panned out perfectly for us.”
Few trainers would be as qualified to talk about the pressures associated with riding a favourite in Hong Kong as ‘Mr Whyte’, who won 13 straight jockeys’ championships between 1999-00 and 2012-13 and was known for his ice cool demeanour before big races and his clear-headed decision-making.
“He said, ‘I know all about this pressure’ … obviously he was a great jockey and has been through it all, and he was able to bring me through it and try to calm myself down, rather than trying to put more pressure on me.”
Wong was grateful she was given a ride on such a ‘straightforward’ ride in a straight race. “Cheval Valiant loves to be alone in front, and with my 10-pound claim and a bit of rain during the day, it definitely helped a lot,” she said.
Whyte said in his post-race interview with local media that Wong might have been playing down her role a bit too much.
“What Britney did isn’t easy. Everyone thinks it is easy, but he isn’t an easy horse to ride,” he said. “Yes, he is a good beginner, but he can go too hard sometimes and then be vulnerable in the end. Britney did a great job in controlling the pace.
“She held herself together very well riding a favourite, she got the start right and, overall, rode a very heady race.”
One of the first people to congratulate Wong was her allocated trainer David Hall, who has also been a stabilising influence since the 25-year-old apprentice returned from riding in Australia and New Zealand to make her debut.
“Mr Hall is my boss and we work together very closely. He is such an easygoing boss,” Wong said. “Whenever I am nervous I can go and talk with him, and he won’t even talk about racing when I am nervous. He is really good at easing my nerves and bringing the best out of me.”
